Teaching with Geodes
INSTRUCTIONAL DECISION-MAKING WITH SOUND SEARCH BOOKS Sound Search Books are multi-layered reading experiences. They provide students with opportunities to build their letter-sound recognition skills, while building content knowledge, oral vocabulary, and a sense of sequence. As you plan instruction with Sound Search Books, consider student needs along with the following potential supports:
Prior to exploring the book, review the Focus Letter Sounds and generate sample words that correspond to those sounds. Also, introduce unfamiliar illustrations and terms in the Sound Search section.
Conduct multiple reads of the adult-read sentences. Repeat sentences as needed to emphasize a different Focus Letter Sound each time.
Assist students in identifying certain items within the scene. Featured illustrations range from basic vocabulary to more content-specific instances. Furthermore, while many of the featured illustrations are nouns, some adjectives, adverbs, or verbs beginning with the Focus Letter Sound(s) may also be featured in a scene. The amount of prompting needed will vary depending on students’ familiarity with the topic as well as the complexity of the words. As students grow in their independence, they may benefit from working in pairs to explore the books using the Sound Search section as a guide.
As you support students in exploring Sound Search Books, be strategic when correcting student errors.
Consider each student’s level of letter-sound knowledge and the areas of growth for each student. For example, if a student who can accurately identify letter names and sounds misidentifies a tortoise as a turtle, point out the naming error to support that student’s vocabulary development. But if a student who has been struggling with letter sounds identifies a tortoise as a turtle, the error may not need to be corrected during the first exploration of the book since the student correctly named an object with the Focus Letter Sound /t/.
Correct vocabulary usage should be encouraged in all students, but consider the student’s primary area of need when determining which errors to correct immediately and which corrections to fold into later instruction. Because students may need support in multiple areas, try to balance error correction to maximize their productive struggle without overburdening their cognitive load.
For additional information on the design of Sound Search Books and sample teaching routines, see pages 25-26 of this teacher resource.
TARGETED SUPPORTS FOR ACCURACY
If students need a procedure reminder for the Sound Search Books, reread page 1 to highlight the featured Focus Letter Sounds and set a purpose for engaging with the book.
If students need support with identifying the Focus Letter name or sound, review the letter and its corresponding sound using materials from your foundational skills program.
If students need support with finding objects that start with the Focus Letter Sound, encourage them to limit their search to one small section of a page at a time. Consider covering part of the page spread with a blank sheet of paper and incrementally pulling back the paper until the whole page spread is revealed. To determine where to focus students’ attention, consult the Sound Search section at the beginning of the book. Also, consider having students practice with one Focus Letter Sound at a time rather than multiple Focus Letter Sounds that may be featured on a page spread. 41
